1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a scanning device, and more particularly to a scanning device capable of quickly starting scanning.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, before a scanning device starts scanning, an upper cover of the scanning device has to be opened. Then, a to-be-scanned document is placed on a glass platen and the upper cover is closed. Next, a key on the scanning device or a button on the software interface is pressed and the scan operation is thus initiated
When a lot of documents, such as pages of a book, are to be scanned, it is time-consuming to repeat the above-mentioned operations. In addition, the open and close operations for the upper cover tend to make the to-be-scanned document deviate from the scan position when smaller documents, such as checks, receipts, and the like, are to be scanned. Furthermore, the complicated initiation operations may cause inconvenience to workers in the customhouse, airport or bank because they may need to frequently scan documents, such as passports, exhibits, savings-account books.
It is to be noted that the so-called scanning device of the invention is not limited to only a scanner In other words, any device capable of scanning images may be applied to this invention For example, the scanning device may include a copier, a fax machine, a multi-function peripheral, and the like
Referring to FIG. 1, a scanning device 110 is placed on a base platform 170, which may be a table, a floor, and the like. The scanning device 110 includes a housing 112, a guiding rod 113, a plurality of support feet 115, a glass platen 118, a scan-start unit 130, a scanning module 140 and an upper cover 160
The housing 112 has a top surface 114 and a bottom surface 116. The glass platen 118 is mounted on the top surface 114. Before scanning, the upper cover 160 is opened, and a to-be-scanned document 120 is placed over the glass platen 118. Then, the upper cover 160 is closed so that the upper cover 160 may press the scan-start unit 130, which may be a press switch. Thus, the scanning module 140 may perform a scan operation under control of a control unit (not shown).
When a lot of documents are to be scanned by this scanning device 110, the frequent open and close operations for the upper cover 160 may possess the above-mentioned drawbacks
FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration showing another conventional scanning device, which is similar to that of FIG. 1. The only difference resides in that the scan-start unit 130 is a key pressed by a user to initiate the scan operation without being triggered by the upper cover 160.
When the above-mentioned scanning device 110 is utilized to scan a book, the user has to press the book by one hand, and press the key by the other hand to initiate the scan operation. It is quite inconvenient to a user who wants to scan a lot of pages of a book.
Therefore, it is an important subject of the invention to provide a scanning device capable of conveniently and quickly starting scanning.